Naya Rivera
' Naya Marie Rivera '''is an actress who currently portrays the role of Santana Lopez on FOX's hit TV Show, ''Glee. She was born in Santa Clarita, California on January 12, 1987. Early and Personal Life Naya, who has lived in the Los Angeles area was born and raised in Valencia, California, modeled and acted throughout her childhood. As a baby, Rivera appeared in commercials for Kmart, but her first significant acting job was at the age of four when she starred as Hillary Winston in the Eddie Murphy produced sitcom The Royal Family in 1991.[1] Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise. In 2002 she also appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You". She was hired for a single-episode guest appearance on The Bernie Mac Show in 2002, but was brought back to work on a further five episodes. She was later featured in single episodes of 8 Simple Rules and CSI: Miami. In 2009, Rivera was cast as Cheerios cheerleading squad member Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series Glee, about a high school glee club. Rivera's character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader Brittany (played by Heather Morris). Rivera auditioned for the opportunity "to sing, dance and act all in the same show," and because she was a fan of co-creator Ryan Murphy's previous work on Nip/Tuck. Rivera drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films such as Mean Girls to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy Sophomore". She has described Santana as "your typical high school cheerleader, for the most part," explaining: "She's really mean and loves boys. She's really witty so I love playing her." She has characterized Santana as "a bit of a bad girl" who is "really snarky and always has these really witty one-liners she throws out there." Rivera enjoys the fact Santana is competitive and headstrong as she herself shares those traits, but dislikes Santana's mean streak. She finds the show's pacing challenging, especially the dancing, and commented in June 2009 that her most memorable moment on Glee was performing the Cheerios' glee club audition piece, "I Say a Little Prayer". Santana played a more prominent part in the last nine episodes of Glee's first season. Rivera commented: "Santana's been wreaking havoc with people's boyfriends and people's babies and teachers—she's the high school terror, and she's going to continue to be the villain." In 2010 Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61 and in 2011 she got named 43. She also made the Afterellen Hot 100 list in both 2010 and 2011, premiering at 62 in 2010 and jumping to 1 in 2011. Naya Rivera hosted the 22nd GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco. Career * She did K-Mart commercials as a baby. * She portrayed Hillary Winston on the episodes Just One Date, Heart Strings and Mama's Wedding from "The Royal Family". * She portrayed Cindy on the episode Bundle of joy from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". * "Family Matters" as Gwendolyn * "Live Shot" * "Smart Guy" * "House Blend" * "Even Stevens" * "The Master of Disguise" * "The Bernie Mac Show" (6 Episodes) * "8 Simple Rules" * "CSI: Miami Episode: Power Trip" * "Girlfriends" * Santana Lopez in "Glee" External links *Twitter *Naya Rivera on IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0729369/ *NayaRivera.net http://nayarivera.net Quotes *''(on her favorite moment of Season 2) “I loved what the fans having lovingly dubbed “The Hurt Locker” – when Santana confessed her love for Brittany. It was the first time, as an actor, I saw the fruits of my labor. I was so prepared for that scene and in my heart, I was happy with the work I did. And to be so proud of something you did is the best feeling, no matter the profession.”'Glee' stars talk season three, the tour & graduation! *"My heart is a Slushee full of love and I want to toss it all over you."Naya Rivera wows as the host of the GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco *"Getting hit on by both genders is such a champagne problem." Trivia *Her vital statistic is 34-22-32 *Her nicknames are Bee, NayNay, Nay Nay Rivers, Na Nay, Little Bee, and The Veiled FairyGLEE - 10 Things You Didn't Know About Naya Rivera *If she were not an actress, she would be a writer. *She doesn't like to throw things out. *Had a crush on Robin Thicke *She likes sushi and Mexican food. *She hates papercuts, and she always thinks of getting one on her eye when she thinks of them. *She likes to wear her make-up natural. *She does planks and side planks to keep her stomach toned. *She wears MAC and Rimmel make-up. *She is best friends with her co-star Heather Morris. *There were rumors that she trashed Mark Salling's car (as he had been talking to other girls when they had a "thing"), but these rumors are not confirmed and Mark denied them on Twitter. *﻿Naya is half Puerto-Rican, 1/4 African-American and 1/4 German. *Rivera loves to read and is a fan of "Nip/Tuck". *She would take her false lashes and her hair extensions to an uninhabited island. *When she's tired, she doesn't talk, but mumbles. *Her first concert was No Doubt. *She's a very good impersonator. *When she is bored she will drive somewhere, but always take the longest route. *On Valentine's Day, she and her friends would sit in the car, listen to Dashboard Confessional and cry. * She hopes to make films one day and has written several screen plays. *Her favorite TV shows are Nip/Tuck, Grey’s Anatomy, and House. *She is left-handed. *She has tried to pay a taxi cab ride only in pennies. *She has one brother and two sisters. *She has five tattoos ("love" in Hebrew on her right wrist, a peace sign on her left ankle, a cross on her lower back, a shooting star on her right foot, and a ribbon on her nape). *She is a fan of the Hunger Games Trilogy and she would like to play Johanna in the second installment of The Hunger Games. *She watches Pretty Little Liars. * She invented a dance that can be seen on YouTube called "The Naya Dance". * Was number 1 on the AfterEllen hot 100 list for 2011. * Is 5'5" (165 cm) * She is not fluent in Spanish, stated in a livestream, but she was apparently drunk and/or joking since Amber said, "No you don't, you're a liar." (She really was drunk during the livestream though.) * Wears contacts. * Got a record deal. * Has had 3 women propose to her due to her lesbian storyline. * She's contralto, and has a 2.6 octave range. Her vocal range is C3-Bb5 as seen on a youtube video. * Is a supporter of the San Jose Sharks as seen in a photo from Dianna Agron's Tumblr where both are seen wearing Sharks jerseys. * For the July 2 show, Naya changed her shirt from "Lebanese" to "Lebanese for Irish Girls" because they were in Ireland. * On July 3rd, Naya quickly kissed co-star Heather Morris on the lips on their last stop of the Glee European tour in Dublin, Ireland. * Was seen smoking on a break from filming in New York. This is the only time she's been caught. * Is a huge Amy Winehouse fan and Valerie is her second favorite song ever. * Auditioned for Glee with the song ''Emotion from the Bee Gees. * Naya and Shay Mitchell (Pretty Little Liars) are friends. * Wants Santana to get a girlfriend and come out next season. * Starred in the music video "Why I Love You" by B2K * Played a prank on the cast by using her extra phone to send mystery texts to the cast and signing them with xoxo -A, like in Pretty Little Liars. * Was voted by the cast to be the most likely to join the cast of Jersey Shore. * She worked at Hooters. * Is the only left-handed cast member. * Favorite animal is the mouse. * Her all-time favorite song is 'A Song For You' by Donny Hathaway.Naya Rivera Interview * Her favorite childhood show was Boy Meets World or Doug. * She prefers being a Cheerio. * Her favorite accessory is a nice watch.Response to Twitter question * In January 2011 Rivera appeared in a parody of Nuthin' but a G'Thang, called "Nuthin' But a Glee Thang", co-written by her friend Heather Morris. * In May of 2011, it was announced that Rivera had signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album. * In May, Rivera hosted the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards. * She took up songwriting at the age of 15. * When she was 17, she was a fan of Paris Hilton and watched "The Simple Life". She also bought the same dog as Paris. * In 2010, Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61. The following year, she was ranked number 43. * Has a brother named Mychal, who's a football player, and a sister named Nickayla, who's a model. Mychal's 21 and Nickayla's 17. * Won Favorite Female Artist at the 2011 ALMA awards! * Believes in God. * Is named after a mermaid on the 1970s TV show Fantasy Island * Has a Mac. * Cover of the November 2011 issue of FHM